Pneumatic action for musical instruments



- 1,638,345 9 1927' H. .1. LA JOlE ET A PNEUMATIC ACTION FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Filed Sept. 14. 1922 4 Sheet-Sheet l Acc'ovg Chest- Q/Eest H. J. LA JOIE ET AL PNEUMATIC ACTI ONiFOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS 4 SheetsSheet 2 v Filed. Sept. 14. 1922- 1927' H. J. LA JOIE ET AL PNEUMATIC ACTION FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Filed Sent. 14. 1922 4 Enema-sheet 3 H. J. LA JOIE ET AL PNEUMATIC ACTION FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Aug. 9 1927.

4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed $9131.14. 1922 I WI 1 resszoml a Ii I I l l i ao/W376i] 2 n azes Jz-nhra 9 Q a V we iazzziace. ZbQc'z ZZZ' mt Patented Aug. 9, 1927.

FUNITED" STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HUBERT J. LA JOIE, OF EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, AND UBERT URQUHART, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNORS TO AUTO PNEUMATIC ACTION COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

PNEUMATIC ACTION FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

Application filed September 14, 1922. Serial No. 588,254.

The object of our invention is to provide a new and improved pneumatic action, for musical instruments, especially adapted to be operated by foot power. in which the melody 5 or accented notes will be automatically selected, arranged so that the player can regulate and control. the dynamics of either or both the melody or accompaniment notes.

To this endthe invention consists in di 1 viding the tracker bar controlled valves for the operating pneumatics into sections and in providing a high tension passage from the foot pumps, an automatic governor, and a governed tension passage, with tracker con- 1 trolled valves, for automatically connecting either passage to any of said sections combining therewith means operable by the player for adjusting the action of the governor.

By this arrangement the player can control the dynamics oi: the accented or melody notes by his operation of the pumping mechanism and can control the dynamics of the accompaniment notes by his adjustment of the governor. 7

Our invention further consists in novel combinations of parts pointed out hereafter.

Our invention is illustrated inthe accompanyingfour sheetsof drawings, referring to which Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the general arrangement of parts Fig. 2 is a plan of the governor controllinglever lock; v 86 I Fig. '3 is across sectional elevation on an enlarged scale through the action, taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; I Fig. 4 is a detail view of an automatic compensator that may be used in the governor controlling connections, taken on the line .4-,--4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a front elevation partly in sec tion illustrating the governor and the connections therefrom;

Fig. 6 is .a sectional plan view on the line 6-6ofFig.5; 1' Fig. 7 is across sectional view on the line 7-7'of Fig. 6';

Fig. 8 is a cross sectional view on the line 8 8 of Fig. 6, illustrating one of the ten sion controlling valves in normal position. a Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 8., illustratthe valve in its other position; and

and in V Fig. 1 0 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the perforated music sheet and the traclc er bar and connections in detail.

Referring to the drawings and in detail. T designatesa tracker bar having the usual eightyeight playing apertures over which the perforated music sheet S is drawn from its spool by the usual take-up spool or roll R. The playing apertures in the tracker bar are connected by tubes and passages to operate valves V in the action chest A, which control the passage of air to or from the operating pneun atics P. Operating connections extend from the-pneumatics to engage the wippens or any suitable part of the units of the piano action it the invention is to be applied to such a musical instrument.

lVdesignates the wind chest. provided with the usual tension reservoir, from which the air is exhausted by usual foot pumps F-F. These parts may be of any usual or preferred construct-ion and need not be described in further detail.

The action chest contains partitions 10 so that the tracker controlled valves V will be divided into sections. In the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated ten such partitions are employed arranged so that the eighty-eight valves V will be divided into nine intermediate sections of three each, a bass section of thirty valves and a treble section of thirty-one valves as illustrated in Fig. 10. y

The top part of the action chest is pro vided with a high tension passage H and with a governed tension passage Gr. Arranged between these passages are nine valves C each of which controls a passage 11 extending to an intermediate valve sec-' tion. Two valves C's-C are also arranged in passages between the high tension and the governed tension passages H and G and control a passage 12 extending to the treble section of the valves V and two valves C C are also arranged in passages between the high and the governed tension passages H and G and control .a passage 13 extending to the bass section of the valves. If desired, more than. two valves C'C may be used for the treble section and more than two valves C may be used for the bass section, and if desired, the valves C may be jointly operated from a primary valve operated from the cracker aperture and the valves (3 may be jointly operated from a tracker aperture.

The valves C, C and C are normally held in position by springs C to connect the governed tension passage G to the sections of the valves V as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 8. The valves C, C and C are connected to diaphragms exposed to the high tension and the spaces at the other sides of these diaphragms are connected by tubes to apertures in the tracker bar, the diaphragm spaces of the valves CC and of the valves C C being connected together as indicated in Fig. so that the valves C' C operate together and are controlled by one tracker aperture and so that the valves C -C operate together and are controlled by one tracker aperture.

The wind chest W is connected by a pipe 14 to the high tension passage H in the action chest A. A branch pipe 15 connects from the pipe 14 to an automatic governor or tension regulator K. This governor K consists of a valve box 16 to the back of which the governed tension passage G in the action'chest A is connected by a pipe 17 the pipe 15 leading into a recess in the bottom thereof.

A pneumatic 18 is attached to the side of the box 16 and is in communication therewith through a passage 19 and a spring 20 is arranged to keep the pneumatic 18 normally inflated. The movable leaf of the pneumatic 18 is connected by a link 21 to a valve 22 Working or sliding on the bottom of the .box 16. The left hand edge of the valve 22 is arranged to co-operate with the right hand edge of a governor. adjuster valve 23 also arranged to slide on the bottom of the box 16. This valve 23 can be adjusted from a lever 24 pivoted in the key bed and connected thereto by a link 25, lever 26, vertical shaft 27, lever 28 and link 29 as illustrated in Fig. 1. The lever 24 is normally held in the position shown in Fig. 1 by a spring 30 arranged between the link 25 and the key bed and thus the valve 23 is normally held in its extreme right hand position. Thus, normally the governor valve 22 will move to the left to co-operate with the right hand edge of the governor adjusted valve 23 under a very light tension in the box 16.

By moving the top of the lever 24 to the right the degree of the governed tension will be increased as the pneumatic 18 will have to move the valve 22 further to the left to co-operate with the valve 23 against the tension of the spring 20. Hence, by manipulating the lever 24 the player can adjust the action of the governor so as to regulate or adjust the governed tension to any degree within the limits of the mechamsm.

The governor action is necessary as the accompaniment notes vary in number, but by the mechanism described the player can manually control the dynamics thereof. By the arrangements described the player can render the piece of music very beautifully and so as to reproduce the playing of the artist from whose playing the music sheet was cut. The melody notes will be automatically selected and they can be played as loudly or softly as desired by the manipulation of the foot: pedals and the dynamics of the accompaniment notes can be regulated by manipulation of the lever 24.

The lever 24 works in plate 31 which has a notch 32 into which the lever 24 can be snapped and held in extreme right hand position which will put the governor out of operation or will set the same so that the tension of the wind chest will act in the passage G. This is done when playing with an ordinary music sheet which is not cut for accenting, the expression then being ob tained only by manipulation of the foot pumps.

An automatic compensator device may be used if desired so as to have the governed tension follow up any increase of tension for the melody notes. This device consists of a pneumatic 33 secured to the bottom of the key bed and connected to the wind chest by a tube 34. This pneumatichas an arm 35 which works loosely on the link 25 and which bears on an adjustable collar 36 on said link. By this arrangement when the tension is increased in the wind chest which increases the tension with which the melody notes are played, the valve 23 will be moved to the left to increase the governed tension with which the accompaniment notes are played, the arrangement of the parts preferably being such that the degree of the governed tension is not increased as much as the ungoverned tension is increased. But the increase of the governed tension will be proportioned to the increase of the tension in the wind chest. This, however, does not take the control of the governed tension away from the player as he still can manipulate the lever 24 as he pleases either against the pneumatic 33 or beyond the point where the same adjusts the valve 23. If the lever 24 is not held the tension of the melody and accompaniment will be increased or dimin ished proportionally butby manipulating the lever the shading between melody and accompaniment is within perfect manual control. This automatic compensator is an improvement on our invention made by John H. Parnham of New York, New York and the same is claimed specifically in an application filed by said Parnham Oct. 23, 1922, Serial No. 596,282. r

The cutting or perforating of the music sheet is rendered very simple by our invention. As will be seen by reference to Fig. 10, the music sheet is out to have the ordinary range of eighty-eight playing notes laterally, a range of six expression or accent notes at the right of the playing range and a range of six notes at the left of the playing range, five of which are used for expression or accent and the third of which counting in from the right hand edge is used for the loud pedal. This range enables the ordinary eighty-eight note sheet with only loud pedal control to be used on the tracker and enables a music sheet cut to work with our improved mechanism to be employed on the tracker without any adjustments of the mechanism and enables the music sheet to be made of standard width to co'operate properly with the tracking devices, such as the tracking perforations illustrated, with either. cutting.

Thus, we have provided a simple and effective mechanism and music sheet for the purposes stated.

The details and arrangements herein shown and described may be greatly varied by a skilled mechanic without departing from the scope of our invention as expressed in the claims.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a pneumatic action for musical instruments, the combination of the action opcrating pneumatics, tracker bar controlled valves for the pneumatics divided into sections, at high tension passage, an automatic governer consisting of a pneumatic, spring and valve, a governed tension passage, tracker bar controlled valves for connecting either the high tension or the governed ten: sion to any section, a valve co-operating with the governor valve, and means operable by the player for adjusting this valve.

2. In a pneumatic action for musical instruments, the combination of the action operating pneumatics, tracker bar controlled valves for the pneumatics divided into sections, a high tension passage, an automatic governor consisting of a pneumatic, spring and valve, a governed tension passage, tracker bar controlled valves for connecting either the high tension or the governed tension to any section, a valve co-operating with the governor valve, and means operable by the player for adjusting this valve, and for throwing the governor out of operation.

3. In a pneumatic action for musical instruments, the combination of the action chest, action operating pneumatics carried thereby, tracker bar controlled valves therein for the pneumatics divided into sections, a high tension passage and av governed tension passage in the action chest, an automatic governor for regulating the tension in the governed tension passage, tracker bar controlled valves for connectingeither the high tension or the governed tension to any section, and means operable by the player for adjusting the action of the governor.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto aflixed our signatures.

HUBERT J. LA J OIE. UBERT URQUHART. 

